From the States, with love
Family members send their affection overseas
Canese Jarboe
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Front Page
The United States currently has hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in the Middle East. Although these men and women are soldiers, they also make up the hundreds of thousands of loved ones who are sorely missed by their families and friends.
Despite the hardships, loved ones are winning the battle on the homefront by sending care packages, e-mails, telephone calls and letters to their relatives and friends overseas.
Rhyan Tridle, freshman in nursing, was young when her father was deployed to Afghanistan, but she remembers it vividly.
"Whenever he first went over, we sent care packages about twice a month," Tridle said. "We mostly talked over the phone and by e-mail. It was hard at first because we were too young to understand. He was always talking about how the temperature changed a lot and how cool the mountains were there."
Justin Nelson, freshman in the John Deer technology program, remembers the most hard-hitting conversations that he had with his good friend Mike White, who is stationed in Afghanistan.
"He gets to call every once in awhile and we do a lot of catching up with each other," Nelson said. "The one thing he has said that I remember most is that they work all through the night and they don't get a good meal - they starve. You'd think that they would get something good to eat, but they aren't."
Casey Downs, sophomore in political science and a member of the Kansas Army National Guard, has an inside perspective about communication with soldiers.
"I expect to be deployed within the next year or two," Downs said. "My family and I have talked a little about communication and it will mostly be via telephone, with consideration for the time since Iraq is nine hours ahead of time here in Kansas."
Although Downs has not been deployed yet, he has many friends that are located overseas.
"I keep in contact with my friends in the Middle East through Facebook," Downs said. "It's great for keeping in contact with people who might not be on a calling basis."
Downs also described the conversations that he has had with fellow soldiers and what matters to them the most.
"When we talk, it's usually about things here at home and what they want to do when they get back," Downs said. "When you're away from family, friends and loved ones for an extended time, a deployment is just a countdown until you can come back home."
Jen Ferguson, junior in marketing, says she had a sister-in-law sent overseas - being away from home was especially hard for her.
"My sister-in-law was in Iraq soon after her daughter, my niece, was born," Ferguson said. "We always showed her pictures of her mom because she didn't really know who she was yet. It was really hard until she got home."
Ferguson says they had to work with the uncertainty of when they would talk next.
"It was always tough saying goodbye because we never knew when we would get to talk to her again," Ferguson said. "We made every minute count."
Despite the hardships, loved ones are winning the battle on the homefront by sending care packages, e-mails, telephone calls and letters to their relatives and friends overseas.
Rhyan Tridle, freshman in nursing, was young when her father was deployed to Afghanistan, but she remembers it vividly.
"Whenever he first went over, we sent care packages about twice a month," Tridle said. "We mostly talked over the phone and by e-mail. It was hard at first because we were too young to understand. He was always talking about how the temperature changed a lot and how cool the mountains were there."
Justin Nelson, freshman in the John Deer technology program, remembers the most hard-hitting conversations that he had with his good friend Mike White, who is stationed in Afghanistan.
"He gets to call every once in awhile and we do a lot of catching up with each other," Nelson said. "The one thing he has said that I remember most is that they work all through the night and they don't get a good meal - they starve. You'd think that they would get something good to eat, but they aren't."
Casey Downs, sophomore in political science and a member of the Kansas Army National Guard, has an inside perspective about communication with soldiers.
"I expect to be deployed within the next year or two," Downs said. "My family and I have talked a little about communication and it will mostly be via telephone, with consideration for the time since Iraq is nine hours ahead of time here in Kansas."
Although Downs has not been deployed yet, he has many friends that are located overseas.
"I keep in contact with my friends in the Middle East through Facebook," Downs said. "It's great for keeping in contact with people who might not be on a calling basis."
Downs also described the conversations that he has had with fellow soldiers and what matters to them the most.
"When we talk, it's usually about things here at home and what they want to do when they get back," Downs said. "When you're away from family, friends and loved ones for an extended time, a deployment is just a countdown until you can come back home."
Jen Ferguson, junior in marketing, says she had a sister-in-law sent overseas - being away from home was especially hard for her.
"My sister-in-law was in Iraq soon after her daughter, my niece, was born," Ferguson said. "We always showed her pictures of her mom because she didn't really know who she was yet. It was really hard until she got home."
Ferguson says they had to work with the uncertainty of when they would talk next.
"It was always tough saying goodbye because we never knew when we would get to talk to her again," Ferguson said. "We made every minute count."
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